Gate-latch



G. W. GOSS.

GATE LATCH.

APPLICATION man JULY 1o, 1919.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

` cooperative post UNITED STATES Param" envien.

CHARLES E.

Goss, or Benati/ions, entre.

earn-Laren.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Application filed. '.'l'luly`f10,V 1919. Serial N0. 309,845. y

To alltotom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Grenen W. Goss, a` citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, in the county o1 Fairlield and State of Chio,have invented certain new and useful lmprovementsin (irate-Latches, oiEwhich the l'ollowing is a specilication.

rl`his invention relates broadly to farm gates of the horizontalswinging variety, and has particular reference to an improved latchstructure adapted :tor use in securely locking a gate equipped with thesame against undue swinging movement.

The primary object of the invention resides in the provision of a latchstructure wherein is embodied an attaching member which is mounted torlongitudinal sliding' movement upon one of the gate bars, and from whichprojects a longitudinally disposed locking tongue which is adapted toproject into a locking recess 'termed in a member, said locking tonguebeing provided with a curved portion in its length forming a handlewhich upon being grasped will enable said tongue and its associatedmember to be reciproeated upon the gate bar so that the locking extremiity of said tongue may be either projected into or out of engagementwith said post recess.

Another object of the invention resides in equipping 'the attachingmember with an improved triction creating element which is so disposedas to engage with one or more sides of the gate bar upon which themember is carried said element serving to irictionally 'engage said barso that said tongue and member will be retained in their severallyadjusted positions.

Other objects of the invention will be in partobvious and in partpointed vout hereinafter.

F or a further understanding 'of the in vention, reference is to be hadto the aecompanying drawing, forming a part of the presentspecilication, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of a farm gate equipped with a latchstructure comprising the present invention.

F ig. 2 is a perspective view of the latch structure showing the samedetached from the gate.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the hinge structure ot the gate upon whichQ the latch structure 1s mounted, and,

Fig. et is a Voet-oiled top plan view. i

Referring more particularly to the details ot the invention, use is madeof a gate structure l. This structure may be of any desired formationbut inasmuch as the torni disclosed clearly sets torth the principlesPatented Nov. 9, 1920.i

oit the present invention, the following' description will beaccordingly confined thereto. ln this instance the gate structureconsists of a plurality of spaced longitudinally extending wooden bars2, which are joined and held in their operative positions by means et'vertically extending angle irons 3, the latter being preferably disposedin pairs which are mounted on opposite sides ot the bars 2, as isclearly shown in Fig. 4. To eii'ect the hinging oit the gate, so thatthe latter may swing in a horizontal direction, use is made ot pairs etmetallic plates 4i, which are mounted upon the upper and lower bars ot'the gate structure at the hinge end of the latter, and said plates aresuitably secured as .at 5 to their respective bars. Diagonal bracemembers 6 are also carried by the gate and serve to vstrengthen thehinge end of the latter, said braces termi#` A post member' 9 isemployed to support the gate structure and is providedV with pintlemembers l0, the latter having their vertically disposed portionssituated to extend through the elements 8 so as to lie between thelatter and the securing bolts 7. in this manner said bolts may rest uponthe hori zontal portions of the pintles and the gate maintained in asupported condition. By reversing the positions oi" the hinge ele ments8, the free end oi' the gate may be raised or lowered so that a freeswinging position of the gate may be maintained.

Coming new to the more essential features of the invention, the latchstructure is indicated by the letter A, this structure being employed tolock the gate against swinging movementat desired intervals.

In its prei'erred form the structure A conbent to assume an inverted Ushaped for- Vof alined recesses mation and provides a yoke or attachingmember 11. The vertical legs 12 of the 'memberll are adapted to receiveVbetween the sameone of the bars2 of the gate structure so that said yokemember may be supn longitudinal sliding movement ported for A latchtongue 13 also upon said bar.

formed from. channel iron entends laterally from the yoke member and hasits inner end secured by means of a rivet 14; to the upper portion ofthe yoke member. rSaid tongue. is adapted to rest uponVV the upper edgeof the bar upon which the yoke member is slidably mounted,` and theforward end of said tongue terminates in a reduced locking extremity 15.'lhis extremity is adapted to be slidably projected into or out ofengagement with any one of .a plurality of vertically disposed lockingrecesses 16, pro` vided in a cooperative post member 17, and said tongueis provided in its length with ,a curvilinear portion 18 which providesa handle for enabling the tongue to be manually grasped, so that itsreciproeation may be conveniently effected. The forward portion of thelocking tongue is adapted to pass between the endv angle members 8, andin this manner, the movements of said tongue will'be effectively guided,oneV end thereof being carried by the yoke member 11 while tween the`inner end of the tongue and the upper portion of the yoke member, therivet 14 being employed to retain said spring in its operative position.j l/Vhen the Y' yoke member 1s positioned upon one of the bars 2, saidspring will be frictionallyV forced against one side of the bar uponwhich the member is mounted and will exercise suficient pressure thereonto retain the yoke member substantially immovable against accidentaldisplacements. The pressure eXer cised by the spring 19 may be regulatedthrough the provision of a bolt 2O. The latter is arranged to passthrough the lower free ends of the legs 12 and is suitably threaded forthe reception of a nut 21. 0bviously, by tightening the nut 21 againstthe legs 12, the latter will be contracted to such extent that thespring 19 will be forced into firm frictional contact with a cooperativebar. Thus, if the spring should weaken after extended use, such weaknessmay be largely overcome by adjusting the nut 21.

1 sition's.V as va wholeV is supported on the bar upon Awhich the yokemember is mounted and that From the foregoing descriptiomtaken inconnection with the accompanying sheet of drawing, it will be apparentthat there is provided a latch structure of considerable -utility andone which maybe conveniently operated to assume its various operativepolt will bek noted thatthe structure through the provisionlof thespring 19, said tongue will be maintained against accidentaldisplacement. Also, byl projecting the forward i end of thetonguebetween the angle irons 3, the, alinement ofthe locking end of saidtongue with respect to the recesses 16 will be insured, thus producing astruct-ure of avery reliable and positive nature.

What is claimed is: V

1. In a farm gate, a latch structure there for comprising a slidablymounted member arranged upon one of the longitudinal bars of a gatestructure, a latch tongue'extending laterally from said member anddisposed to lie parallel with the edge of said bar vupon which saidmember is mounted, a post having a locking recess formed therewith andinto which the end of said tongue is capable of slidably projecting, andmeans carried by said member` for retaining said tongue in its adjustedpositions. y

2. In a farm gate, a latch structure theref for comprising aslidablymounted member carried by said gate, a latch tongue extending from saidmember and capable ofbeing reciproeated in unison therewith, thel end ofsaid tongue being adapted to engage with a recess formed'in the postmember in order to lock said gate to said post member, andfrictionimparting means carried by said first named member for retainingsaid tongue in its severally adjusted positions.

3.` In a farm gate, the longitudinally extending bars thereof and thevertically disposed and connecting angle members therefor, of alatchstructure for said gate comprising a member slidably received through`longitudinal adjustment upon atleast one of said bars, a locking tonguecarried'by said member and arranged Vto pass between certain of saidangle members for guided movement and to enter a recess, formed in theadjoining post member, and means for frictionally retaining said memberand tongue inV their slidably adjusted positions upon said bar. Y

a. In a farm gate, a latch structure therefor comprising a slidablymounted member arranged to be carried by one of the longitudinal' barsof said gate, a tongue connected with said member and mounted to extendVparallelwwith said bar, one end of said tongue being provided with alocking extremity designed for engagement with a coperative post memberto retainsaid gate in locked relation therewith, Vmeans for guiding thethe combination withV looking extremity of said tongue, and spring meansCarried by said slidably mounted member and arranged to bear upon saidbar so as to retain said tongue in its slidably adjusted positions.

5. In a farm gate, a lateh structure therefor comprising a slidablymountedl U shaped member', the latterl being arranged to be slidablypositioned upon one of the longitudinal bars of said gate, a lookingtongue connected with said member and extending longitudinally upon theupper edge of the bar upon which said member is Carried, said tonguebeing provided with a locking extremity designed for engagement with oneof a plurality of recesses formed in a post member, angle ironsconnecting the longitudinal bars of said gate and between which saidtongue is projected and guided, spring means carried by said member anddisposed to fric tionally engage with the bar upon which said member is.carried to retain said tongue in its adjusted positions, and threadedmeans carried by the free ends of said U shaped member and arranged togovern the frietional relation between said spring `and said bar.4

6. The structure as speeilied in claim 5 and wherein said tongue isprovided with a longitudinallycurved portion forming a manipulatinghandle. Y

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature,

GEORGE W. GOSS.

Witnesses:

EUGENE Mooim, EDWARD M. MYERS.

